Killing a Cybercat
by ProjectKITT
Summary: When Ratchet's curiosity puts him in a bad situation, he is not the only one who suffers. Can he come to terms with what happened, or is he destined not to understand why others' actions differ from his own? Pre-Movieverse.
1. Chapter 1

This is no place for you, Ratchet.

I could hear Optimus Prime's steady voice echoing inside my processor, even though he had never actually spoken those words. I had opted not to even tell him I was coming here, because he would have told me it was a bad idea, and that there was nothing here anyway.

As I stood alone under the empty night sky, I could not help but wonder if he was right.

But then why is he coming here? I would have asked.

Optimus Prime would have pondered it over in his mind, but in the end, I would have doubted that even he had any idea. He is a very reserved individual, he may have said instead, advising me in not so many words to leave it well enough alone. What he does in his personal time, if he does not wish to disclose it, is none of our concern.

And while I did feel the same, something just didn't seem right.

I glanced again at the eerily quiet landscape I found myself in, the deteriorating buildings and cracked glass glittering the streets greeting me with nothing more than a silent denial of my existence. It was almost frightening, giving one the impression that they truly were all alone.

So why here?

As an abandoned outpost of Praxus, there really was not much else to see. The only connection he had to this place that came to my mind was that he was originally from here, but I really didn't think that had anything to do with it. That was a long time ago, and he had never really seemed to have any desire to come back here.

Something rustled behind me. I stiffened, hoping I was indeed alone but too afraid to turn around and risk discovering the opposite. For a fleeting moment my thoughts returned to Optimus Prime, and I realized how very foolish I was for not talking to him, or anyone else, before doing this.

I heard another noise, closer this time. I drew my swords with the flick of my wrist, the metallic sound cutting through the frigid night air as sharply as the blades themselves would cut metal.

But it was too late.

A blow to the back of my head knocked me to the ground, my optics fuzzing out at the force of the impact. I swung wildly behind me, surprised when the edge of my blade actually did hit something. I saw a dark figure stumble back and I scrambled to get up and defend myself, but I couldn't keep my balance. I faltered, landing on my hands and knees, my head throbbing in pain.

I reached a hand back and felt energon dripping from the wound.

Primus, I cursed. What have I done?

A fresh wave of pain hit as my assailant kicked me in the abdomen, knocking me onto my back. He grabbed my hands before I could lash out at him, and then, with a frightening amount of strength, he hoisted me up onto my feet. I caught a glimpse of his coal black armor just in front of my face, but at this point my vision was still blurred and he had activated all of his takedown lights in an effort to blind me as well as obscure himself from my sight.

The harsh glare cut into my consciousness like shards of glass and I tried to turn away from it, but he tightened his grip and the pressure on my hands became unbearable.

"Please, stop," I said. I knew then I wasn't going to win this, so there was no point in struggling anymore. I shuttered my optics and turned my head away, feeling dizzy and trying to relieve the strain on my aching processor. I could feel myself venting hard and I tried to steel myself for whatever fate was going to befall me next, but inwardly, I was afraid.

Afraid that I may have laid optics on Iacon, my home, for the last time.

I was a fool. I had always thought that I had something to offer, that I could make a difference in this world, but I was a fool and now it seemed that here, in this place I had never even been to before, could be my demise, at the hands of a mech who clearly understood the volatility of life and death better than I did.

Perhaps because I was a medic, I never thought it would happen to me. It seemed so painfully obvious now that I had always been wrong.

I waited for my captor to make his next move, feeling the trickle of energon running down the back of my neck and dripping off my bright armor plating onto the ground below. For a moment he did nothing, though I knew he had not diverted his attention from me because I could still feel the gentle flow of air as he lightly vented in and then out. He was not panting like I was, nor was he trembling like I was as he steadily and forcefully grasped my hands.

"What do you want?" I dared to ask, my voice sounding pathetic even to myself. I still could not look at him, the unrelenting flood of white light having not abated even in the slightest.

He drew in a vent of air, then whispered almost imperceptibly, "To say I'm sorry."

He killed the lights and threw me to the ground. I slammed into the dirt, feeling something snap underneath my armor. Bright blue energon poured out from between my chest plates, and I screamed.

That was the last thing I remembered.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Bringing him online now..."_

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, that of someone professional yet young. Dimly I connected it to that of Jolt, but I didn't give it much thought after that. Instead, I felt the surge of heavy capacitors powering up and cooling fans spinning to life as my internal systems were forced to restart, activated by forces outside of my control. It was always an unnerving feeling, but one I had gotten used to. Field medics didn't always come out unscathed.

Except this time, I remembered that I had not been tending to anyone.

I drew in a few vents of air, realizing that I was on my back. My scanners came back online and I sensed a mech standing next to me. I unshuttered my optics to see the shiny blue armor of Jolt, who was watching me carefully.

Jolt smiled. "Welcome back," he said, placing his hand on my shoulder. "You had all of us rather worried."

I didn't reply right away, my processor still taking in what had happened. Jolt did not seem unnerved by the delay, however, and in fact he took a step back to give me some space.

I cleared my throat, glancing quickly around the room, relieved to see I was in the med bay in Iacon. Ironhide was leaning against the opposite wall, staying well out of the way. He appeared only mildly interested, however I suspected that was not the case.

I turned my attention back to Jolt. "How did you find me?"

"Whoever did this must have accidentally activated your emergency beacon," Jolt said. "It was a good thing, too, because if we had found you any later, you might not have survived."

I nodded, looking away, trying not to think about that. "Do you know who did it?"

Jolt shook his head. "I was hoping you would know. They didn't stick around, so at this point we can only assume it was a Decepticon attack. We haven't seen any Decepticon activity at Praxus for quite a while, so that is a bit worrisome."

I nodded again, glancing down at my hands. Something felt off, and I lifted them above my chest to see them trembling.

Jolt must have noticed. "There is some neural damage," he said, "but it will be temporary. I believe it will only last a few more orns at most."

"A few more orns?" I said, putting my hands down and looking up at Jolt. "How long was I out?"

"About four orns," Jolt said. "We kept you in stasis until the worst of the damage was patched. Obviously you don't need me to tell you that it was fairly significant."

I nodded, having nothing else to say to that. I could read over the medical reports, but right then I didn't feel like it.

"Optimus is going to want to speak with you," Jolt said. "I told him only if you felt up to it."

"I'll speak with him," I said, running a hand over my face. "Whenever he's ready."

"All right. I'll go get him."

Jolt smiled, then turned to leave. Normally a private comm would have sufficed, but I suspected that Jolt wanted to update Optimus Prime in person. He strode across the room, stopping by the door for a moment to speak to Ironhide.

"Keep him safe, Ironhide," he said.

Ironhide nodded. "You can count on it."

With that Jolt stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him. I waited a moment before turning to address Ironhide. "Security detail?"

Ironhide glanced at me. "Yes," he said, sounding slightly surprised that I would even ask.

I nodded, waiting another moment before speaking again. "That was an ironic thing to say, don't you think?"

Ironhide cocked his head. "I'm sorry?"

"'Keep him safe, Ironhide'," I repeated. "It's a little ironic, isn't it?"

Ironhide continued to stare, a puzzled look on his face. "I don't understand."

I cast him a hard glance. "No? I'd bet against Primus that isn't true."

Ironhide stiffened. "Ratchet, what are you talking about?"

"Don't you dare play that game," I said, raising my voice. "You think just because I couldn't see you, that I didn't know it was you? I know you've been going to Praxus, and you haven't been telling anyone about it. I was worried about you so I went to see what was going on, and this is what you do? I ended up in stasis in my own fragging med bay!"

Ironhide continued to stare at me, his expression blank. Then he pushed himself off the wall and stood to his full height. For a moment I thought I may have made a mistake, but then he turned away, his gaze shifting to the other side of the room.

"All right," he said, his voice barely over a whisper. "I did it."

I stared at him. He rarely whispered, but right then he sounded so much like he had that night in Praxus. A long moment passed and I pursed my lip plates, nodding once and glancing down at the berth. I had been so sure it was him, and so angry that it was, but hearing him admit it without the slightest fight was not what I had been expecting. I wasn't sure what to say.

Ironhide shifted his gaze back to me. "So, what happens now?"

I glanced up at him, trying to read the subtle expression on his face. Ironhide could be so hard to read when he wanted to be, and now was clearly one of those times where he did not want to give anything away.

But right then, I really didn't care. There was no good reason for doing what he did. "One of two things is going to happen," I said. "Either you're going to tell me why you did this, or you're going to tell Optimus Prime."


	3. Chapter 3

A full decaorn passed before I was released from the med bay, although I suspected it was more out of fear that I would try to return to my duties too early rather than strict medical necessity. I was told that I should definitely take it easy the next few orns, but little did they know, I was already making the arduous journey back to Praxus.

Ironhide had refused to tell me why he had done it, instead making a cryptic offer of showing me why when I was well enough to travel. He had asked if that was an acceptable solution, and perhaps foolishly, I had agreed.

So I had not said anything to Optimus Prime.

It seemed unwise to do again what had gotten me into this situation in the first place, but the truth was that if Ironhide had ultimately wished to extinguish my spark, he would have done it already. Even if Praxus had been a mistake, he would have had ample opportunity in the med bay. But instead, he stood guard as I lay completely helpless and at the mercy of an array of machines designed to keep my systems functioning.

And in my spark, I was certain that Praxus wasn't a mistake. Ironhide was too good at what he did to make mistakes.

I glanced at the gloss black armor of Ironhide's vehicle mode as he drove ahead of me, polished to a shine sometime between the joors he spent training, on duty, or in recharge.

Or in Praxus.

Ironhide commed me. "A_lmost there,_" he said. "_We're going to be meeting someone, so don't be surprised._"

Ironhide transformed into robot mode and came to a stop, his optics searching the large rock formations that were characteristic of this area just outside of Praxus.

I followed Ironhide's lead and also transformed, walking up to him. "Who are we meeting?"

Ironhide glanced at me for a second and then lifted his fingers to his audial, as if he was receiving a comm. He waited a moment, then strode in the direction of a particularly large and intricate rock formation. "This way," he said.

I followed behind him,waiting for him to answer to my question, but as we approached and walked alongside a cavernous rock face, he didn't seem like he was going to.

"You still haven't told me who we're meeting," I said. "I'd like to not be surprised."

"Then don't turn around," came a voice from behind me.

I recognized the voice immediately and spun around, drawing both of my swords. My optics were met with the sight of Starscream leaning casually against a rock.

How in the Pit had he gotten behind us?

Starscream all but ignored me, instead casting an annoyed glance in Ironhide's direction.

Ironhide lightly touched my shoulder. "You can stand down, Ratchet."

I glanced at Ironhide, who gave me a subtle nod. Reluctantly, I subspaced my weapons and turned back to Starscream.

Starscream studied me for a moment, his weapons completely put away, and I couldn't help but think that this was probably the first time I had ever been in his presence and not feared that he was going to offline me.

He smirked. "You weren't expecting me, were you?"

I glanced again at Ironhide, who said nothing. "No, I wasn't," I said, turning back to Starscream. "Why are you here?"

Starscream pushed himself up off the rock, turning to address Ironhide. "Are you going to explain this, or shall I?"

Ironhide shifted his weight, glancing at the ground before lifting his optics to Starscream. "You might as well."

Starscream took a step to the side, away from the rocks. "Very well," he said, snapping his fingers.

I don't know what I had been expecting, but what I saw next definitely wasn't it. Edging out from between the rocks and then dashing to stand behind Starscream's legs was a tiny, nearly all-black sparkling.

The sparkling peeked out from behind Starscream, and Starscream trailed his fingers along the sparkling's head. The sparkling then stepped out and ran to Ironhide, hiding behind him. Ironhide reached down and picked the sparkling up, caressing its black-laced-with-red armor as it buried its face in Ironhide's arms.

I stared at Ironhide in disbelief. The sparkling was not quite as stocky as he was, but the resemblance was certainly there. "It's... yours?"

Ironhide nodded. "It's ours," he said, gesturing toward Starscream.

I glanced at Starscream, his silver armor laced with the same red as the sparkling's. "How did this happen?" I asked.

Starscream snorted, crossing his arms over his chassis. "You're a fragging medic," he said. "Don't tell me I have to explain the process to you."

"Starscream," Ironhide said, "watch your language."

Starscream shrugged dismissively. "It's not a big deal," he said. "His carrier doesn't swear, so I'm sure he'll learn the difference."

"I don't when I'm in front of him," Ironhide said, casting Starscream a wearied glance. "You'd do well to do the same."

Starscream just shrugged again, turning away. I got the sense that he was trying to ignore me rather than Ironhide, being that he would usually have some smart comment when he heard something he didn't like. Perhaps this scenario was a bit more personal than he was used to.

The sparkling squirmed in Ironhide's grip, turning to look at me. He couldn't have been more than a few decaorns old, and although he would certainly be too bulky to be a flier, you could see the influence when you looked for it. He would probably be very agile for a 'ground pounder', as they called them.

"He's not used to seeing anyone else," Ironhide said, adjusting his grip. "Usually he's rather dauntless."

I nodded, studying the sparkling. "Understandable," I said, and although I wanted to add the fact that the sparkling really should have had a medical exam by now, which I would assume he hadn't, I decided not to bring it up. He looked healthy as far as I could tell, and honestly, if I had completely missed the fact that Ironhide was carrying, I was in no position to be talking.

"Are we done?" Starscream said more than asked. "Contrary to popular belief, I do have things to do."

Ironhide cast him an annoyed glance, then eased the sparkling to the ground. "Go," he said gently, nudging the sparkling toward Starscream. The sparkling studied me for a moment, then ran to Starscream.

I still couldn't believe it. Not only did Ironhide have a sparkling, he had a sparkling with _Starscream_.

Starscream must have picked up on my expression, either that or I spoke aloud without realizing it, because he looked at me and laughed.

"I know," he said. "I don't believe it either. But"— he turned to Ironhide and winked—"here we are."

"You know when I'll be back," Ironhide said, turning away. "If you need anything before then, comm me."

Starscream nodded, flipping his hand up in the air grandiosely. "Will do," he said.

Ironhide transformed into vehicle mode and pulled away, not even waiting for me to follow suit. I glanced at Starscream, who looked at me with an impassive gaze, and then at the sparkling, who was peeking at me curiously from behind Starscream's legs. Then I transformed and drove away, following the faint billow of dust that Ironhide left behind.

He was not done explaining things yet.


End file.
